4 month progress

Another monthly update to show off my progress. I had an appointment on the 13th December, yes that was a Friday 13th!!!  My new orthodontist let me know she would only be seeing me every 8 weeks now as she didn't feel that 4 weekly would benefit me anymore. Well I'm a bit undecided how i feel on that one think perhaps it's just a fob off to reduce appointment lists!
So I had my wire tightened and my two power chain moved, one was over the tooth i had taken out for pace and the other was on that really far back upper tooth (upper 7). The upper 7 power chain was replaced with a coil spiral  piece and and one was also attached to the lower rotated tooth (#27?) i presume to speed up the rotation.
I don't really see much progress from last month although the upper 7 is much more visible, and the back teeth on my left side have finally overlapped the bottom teeth and have a much more settled bite. As you can see my bite is still very open.
So with regard to care plan, the ortho told me she would prefer i had my upper #3 taken out as planned before i got the braces on. This would give me more space and prevent me needing the implant to provide anchorage. I'm more than happy to have this done, although i don't want to have teeth removed (who does!) but the tooth is basically one big filling and will just cause me a multitude of problems in later life.
So that's all for the moment, my next appointment isn't until the very end of February but I'll post a January and February progress photo.
Happy holidays everyone :D.

3 Months Update

Well the plan was to update this blog monthly with progress photos and any news from my ortho appointments. However I forgot to post a 2 month update as I was on placement last month and went to my appointment after a 12hr nightshift (never again!). Also my last tightening was on October 12th and I don't have another appointment until December 13th. The delay is due to my clinic being changed as my usual consultant  has left the job so I feel like I'm being passed from pillar to post at the moment. I'm not very happy about it as my wires badly need tightened and the delay will slow up my treatment time, but there nothing much I can do unless one of my wires break.
Anyhoo, good news is that I am beginning to see quite a change between my pictures. I can obviously feel small changes in my teeth and in particular my bite. You can see how well my left side (right side on photos) is being 'pulled out'. I hadn't really noticed how well some of my teeth had rotated. I'm not sure if its noticeable but my overbite it much more pronounced at the moment as my back teeth line up and my bite. Also my lower front teeth have been moved from an almost sloping forward position to more upright which you can't really see from the photo, however if you see the teeth from a birds eye view they look a bit lopsided. Overall I'm really happy with the progress, and just approaching it all with the attitude that it can get worse before it gets better.

My first month in braces

I finally got my braces attached on the 19th September. The appointment took about 40 minutes and I only had the top set put on as my orthodontist thought it was a bit too much to have upper and lowers on at the same time. I also wnet back to get my lowers on 17th September (My Birthday!!!).

These are my pictures from my first day in braces

This is my photos after one month of having my upper brackets on and 1st day of having my lower bracket on

These are a few things I've noticed from my first month with the braces on:

1. I feel like one of those girls who posts selfies on social media with a big duck lip pout! It's really strange getting used to adjusting your lips over the top of the braces since they now take up a few extra mm in your mouth.

2. I was petrified to eat solid foods at first, in fact for the first few days i lived of mainly soup and bread. I still can't eat anything really hard or chewy but most foods are manageable if they are eaten slowly or cut into smaller pieces although i am avoiding chewy sweets at all costs.

3. It takes a long time to clean you teeth properly with braces on. Even when i think i have it all I'll rinse out with mouthwash and still more will come away. It's gross but you have to be REALLY though to make sure you get everything out.

4. Buy a travel dental kit. I got a special orthodontic kit from ebay which has a travel toothbrush, mouthwash, toothpaste, wax and hard case all for orthodontics. I also keep an inter-dermal brush in it to help get in between all the spaces the toothbrush misses. Trust me you'll need this if your eating outside your house during the day, mine is a lifesaver for when I'm at work or in university.

5. Your teeth will become unpredictable. Some days they feel fine then the next they will throb in certain areas, so remember to keep some pain relief handy. Your bite will often feel 'off'  and at some points your teeth will feel really loose.

6. Wax will be your saviour. The first 4 days of having the braces on were torturous while the soft bit of my mouth got used to having metal rubbing against them 24/7. The wax will help to create a barrier to stop the rubbing and ease the pain. You can see I have clear wax on in the second photo above, i mostly use it over the elastic hook as they protrude the most.

7. People will stare. I have a lot of people look at my braces but don't really say anything to me. I don't mind people asking and usually I will start to talk about my braces if I see someone wants to ask but doesn't' want to appear rude.


So other than that I was informed when I was getting my bottom braces on that I will need to have a micro orthodontic implant screwed into my gum to allow for extra anchorage at some stage of my treatment. This freaked me out but after some online research I found its actually an excellent way to speed up treatment and prevent failure of treatment, so hey its got to be done!
Also I have an appointment tomorrow as my lower  left wire popped out at the back when I was eating today. I'm sure it could probably be put back in myself but I don't want to go poking around and break something. I was really surprised that i got a next day appointment to get it fixed, thumbs up NHS!
I'll do another update of how I'm getting on in month two but so far these bottom wires are killing me, very sore wire indented gums which I hope perhaps the ortho can maybe adjust tomorrow by shortening the wire? Wahh just feeling sorry for myself and my indented cheek!


best breast pump

Before Brace Photos

I finally got around to taking some before photos of my teeth. It's now only 6 days until i get my braces put on and i'm getting excited. Today I got one tooth extracted (upper right 5) and it's actually been fine, no pain although i almost fainted int he dentist after i had it done!
Right now i'm worried about how restricted i'll be food wise when the braces are on, but i've stocked up with soup for emergency rations.  I also need to get together a little travel brushing kit for brushing after eating, it will take some getting use to.

So here are my photos from  a few days ago and today after I had my tooth out. I cannot wait until this is not the teeth i see when looking in the mirror, roll on Brace day! My apologies before hand as my teeth are a mess with lots of fillings/root treatments etc.

close up

my bite

right side view

left side view

upper arch (before extraction)

lower arch

upper arch today after extraction (sorry its still a bit bloody and grusome)

 Next time I post here I hope to have my brace face on, and will hope to post regularly with my progress and just generally how things are coping with them, so check back soon.

B-day v.2

Ok so there may have been some confusion over my last appointment and what happening. It turn out the appointment on the 15th July was for the orthodontist to assess which extractions I needed. So good news is I only need one tooth out and I am definitely getting my braces on the 19th August. I have been informed to have the tooth taken out at my own dentist 1-2 weeks before  the 19th. I have been giving an estimated time of 2 years for the braces to be on, seems like ages now but I had it in my head that it would take longer so it was a nice surprise. So I'll get some photos before an after extractions and will be back with those soon and then to show off my tooth bling in a few weeks time.

Photos and B-Day!

I had another appointment on Monday 27th to have photos taken of my face and smile for my before and afters. It was a very short appointment and I didn't really get to ask any questions as the orthodontist who is in charge of my case accidentally slept in as she thought it was a Scottish bank holiday, oops!
So now all I need to do is visit my dentist and have to necessary teeth removed before getting my braces put on which has been provisionally booked for 15th JULY. Argh so excited and nervous at the same time. I don't know which teeth need to be removed yet as I was told the dentist would discuss it with me when I go on 10th June. I'll get some before photos up before my teeth  come out and braces on so you can have an idea of how they look now.
Also I'm starting back at work on 17th June so I'll probably have huge gaps in my mouth for a month or so before I get my braces which will be slightly embarrassing but hey ho I've perfected the art of smiling with my mouth closed for 27 years I'm sure I can handle it for another month. All in the name of a nice smile in a few years time.

Moulds

Today I had my first step onto the treatment wagon. I had an appointment with the orthodontist to get moulds of my teeth and bite. It was quite a quick appointment so nothing to much to report other than the fact that the plastic stuff they use to take the mould tastes disgusting, is very messy and your mouth will be stretched further than you thought was humanly possible!  The orthodontist thought perhaps I might only need one tooth out (one which had root canal treatment) but she'll discuss the treatment plan with me at my next appointment and I'll get my 'before' photos taken too. Things are moving so quickly now, hopefully won't be too long until I have those train tracks on and can start posting photos of my mouth transformation.